Two Winston-Salem, N.C., men's clothing stores celebrate longevity.

Publication: Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Winston-Salem Journal

Byline: Fran Daniel

Nov. 17--It's not every day that a family business can brag that it has been around for more than half a century.

Two independent men's clothiers based in Winston-Salem certainly can. This year, Cahill & Swain Inc. turned 55, and Norman Stockton Inc. is 95.

"They are beating the odds," said Tom Ogburn, the director of the Wake Forest MBA Family Business Center at the Babcock Graduate School of Management. "The statistics are fairly plain. Only about a third of family companies make it to the second generation and only about a third of those make it to the third generation -- some were around 10 or 12 percent."

Despite recent challenges such as a dress-down trend, a slow economy and the terrorist attacks in September 2001, Cahill & Swain and Norman Stockton are still very much in business. The retailers said they aren't even concerned that Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., a chain competitor, has opened a second store in Winston-Salem at Thruway Shopping...

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